Mayor Joseph Evangelista said on Thursday that police teams will be deployed in cemeteries to prohibit people from visiting to commemorate All Souls’ Day on Nov. 2.

Evangelista issued a directive, in accordance with Resolution No. 72 of the National Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Covid-19, that calls for the closure of all public and private cemeteries and memorial parks as part of quarantine protocols against the virus.

“We will abide by the orders of the National IATF and the governor on the matter,” he said, referring to North Cotabato Governor Nancy Catamco’s directive on Oct. 6 that bans all visits in cemeteries and memorial parks in the province from Oct. 28 to Nov. 4 due to the continuing threat of Covid-19.

Evangelista said the local government initially plans to field 100 cops to public and private cemeteries here.

He said the measure will deter the spread of Covid-19 that could trigger local transmission due to the gathering of people from nearby towns and provinces.

The mayor also ordered the city’s Compliance Monitoring Team to coordinate with local police authorities and the traffic management unit in putting up checkpoints along the perimeter of burial grounds.

The city has five cemeteries. These are the public cemetery in Barangay Binoligan, the Catholic Cemetery in Sudapin, the Cotabato Memorial Park, the Kidapawan Memorial Park, and the exclusive Cautivar Cemetery, all in the Poblacion area.

“I hope this is clear and I ask everyone to abide by this regulation for the benefit of our family and the whole community,” the mayor said. (PNA)